Forums >Health and Nutrition>Groin or Hip Flexor Strain?
I think I may have a minor groin or hip flexor strain?? If that's possible? Pain has been building for the past couple of weeks, started out as just a little niggle in my hip/groin but has since gotten worse. Typically I hobble through my first mile as I warm up, and then am able to run my workout for the day. Yesterday I went to my class at the gym and we did lots and lots of mountain climbers...I knew I should have backed off, but I was able to do them so I just pressed through. By the last set of four my groin was really talking to me. This morning went out to do some strides and it just hurt. I have been training since May for a half marathon on Oct 1st and my taper begins this weekend. I'm not going to back out of this race, it's been a goal race for me this whole year...so in the meantime...
I have been icing after every workout, using a heat pad at night before i go to bed. I am stretching every day, doing all of the hip flexor stretches I know. During my taper I'll back off at the gym and just foam roll after I warm up. Mileage will come down dramatically anyway but willing to cut it even further if it means i can make it to race day with little to no pain. any other thoughts?
Yes, it is possible! I've had that exact same injury completely derail me from a target race (shame, too. I think I could have got that 5k PR I was chasing). If it is not stopping you cold right now before your big race, that is great. I would be *extremely* conservative the next couple of weeks leading up to your race. Let it heal as much as you can.
- Joe
We are fragile creatures on collision with our judgment day.
I talked with a football player at my gym today and he suggested taking three full days off, then running lightly through the two week taper to give it as much rest as possible. I think that sounds reasonable and already had tomorrow as a rest day anyway. I think it is a pretty minor thing and will hopefully go away on it's own quickly. I tried to roll it out with a softball this morning but that was pretty brutal...might try it over the weekend though along with some epsom salt baths....
You should be really careful if it's a groin strain. I pulled my groin once and it took FOREVER to heal. My situation was different than yours though. Mine wasn't getting progressively worse, it just pulled during a run. I didn't really notice it until the next day, then it hurt like hell if I tried to close a door with my foot, adducting. There was no way I could run, no effing way. Be careful, and good luck
SMART Approach
I think I may have a minor groin or hip flexor strain?? If that's possible? Pain has been building for the past couple of weeks, started out as just a little niggle in my hip/groin but has since gotten worse. Typically I hobble through my first mile as I warm up, and then am able to run my workout for the day. Yesterday I went to my class at the gym and we did lots and lots of mountain climbers...I knew I should have backed off, but I was able to do them so I just pressed through. By the last set of four my groin was really talking to me. This morning went out to do some strides and it just hurt. I have been training since May for a half marathon on Oct 1st and my taper begins this weekend. I'm not going to back out of this race, it's been a goal race for me this whole year...so in the meantime... I have been icing after every workout, using a heat pad at night before i go to bed. I am stretching every day, doing all of the hip flexor stretches I know. During my taper I'll back off at the gym and just foam roll after I warm up. Mileage will come down dramatically anyway but willing to cut it even further if it means i can make it to race day with little to no pain. any other thoughts?
Can you feel discomfort when standing and lift knee straight up? This will tell you if hip flexor. I think your plan is reasonable. If something is very painful, don't do including rolling. Before runs, get in a got bath or whirlpool to warm up or loosen. A heating pad only penetrates your skin and not into muscle-need moist heat. Also, do some dynamic movements and a little walk before your runs to loosen up. This tyle of warm up will preveny irritation and persistent microtearing that may occur especially later n your runs when your smaller % of healthy muscle get fatigued. Throw in some cross training like some bike rides and you can mix in some intesity or shorter intervals on bike with less tension to help maintain conditioning and leg turnover at fast rpms on bike.
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Yes, I notice the pain the most when I am standing and lift my knee up. I do a terrible job of remembering to warm up better....but this is a good time to start that routine! My neighborhood layout gives me plenty of options for walking for a bit before i start to run. Thanks for the head's up. As good as a hot bath sounds before I run...there's no way I can wake up even earlier, but a hot bath at the end of the day is definitely an option!!
In my experience there are two kinds of injuries, the kind that get worse if I run, and the kind that don't get worse if I run.
In my experience with a hip flexor strain, it got worse when I tried to run. As in your case, it happened just before the taper for a goal race. I tried resting, then running a little, then resting some more, and it got steadily worse. No way I could race. It took five months to resolve.